PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Concerned over development running roughshod over the environment, some residents of Dehradun urged the authorities concerned to halt the proposed felling of 17 trees near Centrio Mall for the construction of a four-lane road.
Sharing details, a member of Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD), Himanshu Arora recalled that a similar tree felling exercise had been scheduled at the same location in 2024 for the road construction. “To stop this, members of CFGD and other social activists took out a Padyatra in that area. During this campaign, we also approached the chief minister and he assured us that no tree would be axed for the project,” he added.
According to sources, after lying low for some time following the CM’s intervention, the authorities concerned have once again devised a plan to cut down about 17 trees along the stretch from Kalidas Road to Centrio Mall to facilitate the construction of four additional lanes. “This is worrying us. They cannot fell trees to widen roads. What is needed instead is effective traffic management. We believe that indiscriminate tree felling is contributing to serious climate change. February has never been as warm as we are experiencing this year,” he noted.
He urged the CM to intervene once again and stop the execution of the plan. “If nothing happens the community activists may organise another Padyatra. These 17 trees are heritage trees and under no pretext should they be cut down,” he said.
A social activist and founding president of the Rajpur Community Initiative, Reenu Paul also expressed serious concerns regarding the plan to cut down trees for the elevated road project. “This project is fundamentally flawed,” she said and added that its execution at the expense of the environment would further impact the local climate negatively.
“To execute the project, private land will also be acquired and it means felling more trees. This reckless activities in the name of development must be stopped,” she averred.
